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Author: Newman Smyth Publisher: Theclassics.Us ISBN: 9781230441399 Category : Languages : en Pages : 42
Book Description
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1898 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER VI THE METHOD OF POSITIVE BENEVOLENCE IN THE LAW OF DEATH IN approaching this more personal part of the problem of mortality, we shall seek first to apprehend the utilities of physical death for the immortality of the human race as a whole; for if we succeed in grasping the nearer end of any great principle of life, our thought may swing itself up by it to higher and more fruitful conceptions of the truth. Ignoring for the moment our personal desires of life, and man's many sorrows, it will prove of advantage if we may gain some clear, broad view of the utility for our humanity, as a whole, of the natural law of death. If we succeed occasionally in seeing things as a whole (as a prophet once said), it will become less difficult for us to understand and to accept with cheerfulness our personal place and part in an order of providence which in its largeness and completeness is seen to be benign. The author has indicated the usefulness of this method of faith in his Personal Creeds, pp. 55 seq. One of these first more evident utilities of death for human life as a whole consists in the immense enlargement, through its means, of this earth as a field for the birth and training of a race of immortals. In natural history one of the vital questions concerns the field for life; whether it is large and rich, or sheltered enough to secure the maintenance and spread of. vegetation, and to afford animal life ample opportunity for its increase. If the field is crowded or barren, or if it lies exposed to destructive elements, then among the plants and animals the struggle will become severe; and the possible amount of the variety, beauty, and joyousness of life in that too limited field will be reduced to narrow limits. Upon the same field of...
Author: Stanley Shostak Publisher: State University of New York Press ISBN: 079148081X Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 262
Book Description
In The Evolution of Death, the follow-up to Becoming Immortal: Combining Cloning and Stem-Cell Therapy, also published by SUNY Press, Stanley Shostak argues that death, like life, can evolve. Observing that literature, philosophy, religion, genetics, physics, and gerontology still struggle to explain why we die, Shostak explores the mystery of death from a biological perspective. Death, Shostak claims, is not the end of a linear journey, static and indifferent to change. Instead, he suggests, the current efforts to live longer have profoundly affected our ecological niche, and we are evolving into a long-lived species. Pointing to the artificial means currently used to prolong life, he argues that as we become increasingly juvenilized in our adult life, death will become significantly and evolutionarily delayed. As bodies evolve, the embryos of succeeding generations may be accumulating the stem cells that preserve and restore, providing the resources necessary to live longer and longer. If trends like this continue, Shostak contends, future human beings may join the ranks of other animals with indefinite life spans.
Author: Todd K. Shackelford Publisher: Springer ISBN: 9783030254681 Category : Psychology Languages : en Pages : 205
Book Description
The latest volume in this multidisciplinary series on key topics in evolutionary studies, Evolutionary Perspectives on Death provides an evolutionary analysis of mortality and the consideration of death. Bringing together noted experts from a variety of fields, the books emanate from conferences held at Oakland University, and are dedicated to providing wide ranging and occasionally provocative views of human evolution. The volume on death covers topics from biology, anthropology, psychology, sociology and philosophy, with contributors addressing how evolution informs the process of comprehending, grieving, depicting, celebrating, and accepting death. Among the topics covered: Evolutionary perspectives on the loss of a twin Nonhuman primate responses to death Death in literature Witnessing and representing the death of pets The role of human decomposition facilities in shaping American perspectives on death This insightful volume showcases groundbreaking empirical and theoretical research addressing death and mortality from an evolutionary perspective, demonstrating the intellectual value of an interdisciplinary approach to understanding psychological processes and behavior. Chapter 6 of this book is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com.